Apparatus for interchanging sheet-metal slitting equipments

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for interchanging sheet-metal equipments includes a main track formed by a pair of parallel rails on which one of the slitting equipments is normally placed, and two side-tracks each formed by a pair of parallel rails on one of which the other of the slitting equipments is normally placed and through which the slitting equipments interchange. The side-tracks are mounted on a wheeled truck movable perpendicular with respect to the main track so that selected one of the side-tracks is allowed to come in alignment with the main track. The said one of the slitting equipments on the main track is in a slitting position thereof, and the other slitting equipment on one of the side-tracks is in a stand-by position thereof. When it is desired to interchange the slitting equipments, the slitting equipment in the slitting position is required to run on the main track onto the other side-track and thereafter the sidetrack bearing truck is shifted to allow the said one of the side tracks carrying the other slitting equipment to be brought into alignment with the main track, thus allowing the other slitting equipment to travel on the main track into the slitting position.

United States Patent 1 Nishiyori et a1.

[ APPARATUS FOR INTERCHANGING SHEET-METAL SLITTING EQUIPMENTS [75]Inventors: Kyutaro Nishiyori; Masahiro Okada,

both of Fukuoka, Japan [73] Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha WatanabeKekkosho, Fukuoka, Japan 22 Filed: Aug. 10, 1972 21 Appl No.: 279,624

3,566,498 3/1971 Kato et al.

3,452,632 7/1969 Brolund 83/701 X 3,212,430 10/1965 Clements 83/563 XFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,502,963 5/1969 Germany 83/563 PrimaryExaminerRoy Lake Assistant Examiner-James F. Coan Attorney, Agent, orFirmWenderoth, Lind & Ponack 1 Apr. 2, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT An apparatusfor interchanging sheet-metal equipments includes a main track formed bya pair of parallel rails on which one of the slitting equipments isnormally placed, and two side-tracks each formed by a pair of parallelrails on one of which the other of the slitting equipments is normallyplaced and through which the slitting equipments interchange. Thesidetracks are mounted on a wheeled truck movable perpendicular withrespect to the main track so that selected one of the side-tracks isallowed to come in alignment with the main track. The said one of theslitting equipments on the main track is in a slitting position thereof,and the other slitting equipment on one of the side-tracks is in astand-by position thereof.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENIEDAPR 2 I974 SHEET 2 (IF 4 PATENTEDAPR21974 SHEEI '4 BF 4 FIGS FIG. 6

APPARATUS FOR INTERCHANGING SHEET-METAL SLITTING EQUIPMENTS BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus forinterchanging sheet-metal slitting equipment.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for interchangingsheet-metal slitting equipment, wherein one of the slitting machineswhich is in a slitting position thereof can be rapidly exchanged withthe other, spare slitting machine with ease.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forinterchanging sheet-metal slitting equipment, wherein a selected one ofthe slitting machines can be fixedly secured in the slitting positionthereof easily and rapidly, resulting in an improvement of the slittingoperation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, an apparatusfor interchanging sheet-metal slitting equipment comprises a main trackformed by a pair of parallel rails for guiding selected one of theslitting machines on wheels between a slitting position and a stand-byposition thereof. The main-track is provided with rail portionsvertically movable relative to the remainder and positioned so that,when the wheels of the selected slitting equipment ride thereon, theselected slitting equipment is precisely in the slitting positionthereof. When the selected slitting equipment is in the stand-byposition, the same rides at its wheels on one of two side-tracks, eachof which is mounted on a truck movable in a perpendicular direction withrespect to the main track so as to bring either of the side-tracks inalignment with the main track. When the selected one of the slittingmachines is in the slitting position, the same at first rides on and iscarried at the wheels thereof by the rail portions of the main track,each of the rail portions movable downwardly and upwardly to allow theselected slitting equipment to be lowered and raised correspondingly.

When it is desired to maintain the selected slitting equipment fixedlysecured in the slitting position thereof, an operator is required onlyto lower the rail portions, the selected slitting equipment beingcarried at its base by a stationary support instead of the railportions. It be preferable that a clamp means is provided between thebase of the slitting equipment and the stationary support therefor tomore firmly hold the slitting equipment in the slitting position. Whenit is desired to exchange the slitting equipment in the slittingposition with the spare slitting equipment in the standby position, theoperator is required to move the sidetrack bearing truck so as to bringone side-track, on which the spare slitting equipment is not carried,into alignment with the main track, then to move the used slittingequipment in the slitting position along the main track onto the saidone side-track, and thereafter to move the spare slitting equipment intothe slitting position along the main track after bringing the othersidetrack, on which the spare slitting equipment is carried, intoalignment with the main track.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will become more readilyapparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an apparatus for interchangingsheet-metal slitting equipments according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a slitting system using the apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, throughthe slitting equipment in a slitting position thereof, taken on the lineIV IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a detailed sectional view of a rail raising and loweringmechanism, which is in such a condition as allowing a movement of theslitting equipment; and

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5, but the rail raising andlowering mechanism is in such a condition as allowing the slittingequipment to be held stationary.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, andparticularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, an apparatus for interchanging slittingmachines 18 and 18 is shown installed on a floor l. The apparatuscomprises a main track formed by a pair of parallel rails 2 fixedlymounted on the floor 1 in a conventional manner, on which the slitters18 or 18 having a plurality of rotatable wheels 8 can travel.

The slitters l8 and 18' and include a base or bed 7 to which the twopairs of the wheels 8 are mounted for rotation through shafts 16 in aconventional manner, upper and a lower spaced shafts 21 which include aplurality of disk type slitting elements 19 and 20, a support 22 forrotatably supporting the shafts 21, and a driving means 23 for drivingthe shafts 21, the support 22 and the driving means 23 being mounted onthe base 7.

The floor 1 is provided with a recess 3 substantially across which themain track 2 extends. Each rail is provided with rail portions 9separable from the remainder and spaced apart a distance substantiallyequal to the distance between the two wheels 8 mounted on the separateshafts 16. The rail portions 9 are so arranged that, when each wheel 8of the slitter 18 or 18 rides on the associated rail portion 9, theslitter 18 or 18' just occupies a slitting position thereof. Within therecess 3 between the rails 2, a support structure 5 is mounted which isable to support the slitter 18 or 18' as hereinafter illustrated. Eachrail 2 between the separable rail portions 9 is supported by a bed 6provided in the recess 3. With respect to means for movably supportingthe rail portion 9, descriptions thereof will be made hereinafter inconjunction with FIGS. 4 to 6.

The floor 1 is further provided with a similar recess 4 on the side ofthe main track 2 opposite to the recess 3. On the bottom of the recess4, a pair of parallel rails 28 are positioned in a normally intersectionrelation to the extenstion of the main track 2. Disposed on the rails 28is a wheeled truck 29 which is provided with a pair of side-tracks 30and 30, each side-track being formed by a pair of parallel railsextending in the same direction as the main track 2 and spaced apart bythe same distance as the rails 2. The upper surface of the wheeled truck29 is flush with the surface of the floor 2 so that, when either theside-track 30 or 30 on the truck 29 is brought into alignment with themain track 2, the slitter 18 or 18 can move between a slitting positionon the main track and a stand-by position on the side-track 30 or 30'.The spare slitter 18 is generally disposed on either the side-track 30or 30.

In FIGS. 4 to 6, means for movably supporting the rail portion 9 isshown, which means comprises a pair of slidable members 11 and 12provided with threaded bores and having top surfaces thereof taperedoppositely outwardly to receive thereon a complementary bottom of therail portion 9 which is formed in an inverse V-shape, a threaded rod 13provided with leftand right-handed screws for threadedly engaging thebores in the slidable members 11 and 12, and a bearing stand 17 for therod 13 the upper extension of the stand 17 also acts as a guide araising and lowering movement of the rail portion 9. It will thereforebe understood that upon rotation of the rod 13 the slidable members 11and 12 move in opposite directions along the rod 13. In the case ofoutward movement of the slidable members l1 and 12, as shown in FIG. 5,the rail portion 9 is raised through the tapered surfaces of theslidable members 11 and 12 and supports the associated wheel 8 of theslitter, the latter being in the movable condition, and in the case ofinward movement of the slidable members 11 and 12, as shown in FIGS. 4and 6, the rail portion 9 is lowered and consequently the slitter base 7is carried by the support structure 5 instead of its wheels 8 beingsupported by the rail portions 9. Thus, the slitter is brought into animmovable condition. In order to ensure that the slitter is maintainedin such immovable condition, a clamp means is provided as shown in FIG.4, which clamp means comprises a fluid operated actuator or cylindermounted within the support structure 5, and a clamping arm 14 isconnected to a reciprocating part of the actuator 15 to force the base 7of the slitter against the upper surface of the structure 5. It isunderstood that the slitter is clamped when the reciprocating partretracts in the actuator 15.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 3, a sheet-metal 27 wound on a pay-offreel 25 is re-wound, through a nip between pinch rolls 24, on a tensionreel 26 after having been slitted into several strips by the slitter 18placed in the slitting position thereof. When the shear cutting edges ofthe slitting elements 19 and 20 become dull and it is desired toexchange the slitter 18 in the slitting position thereof with the spareslitter 18, the clamp means is first loosened and the rail raising andlowering mechanisms are operated to raise the rail portions 9 until eachrail portion 9 is flush with the rail remainder, whereby the slitter 18is also raised into the movable condition. This condition is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. The raised slitter I8 is pushed onto the side track 30on'the truck 29. At this time, both the slitter l8 and the spare slitter18 are on the truck 29. Thereafter, the truck 29 with the slitters 18and 18 is caused to run along the rails to bring the spare slitter 18into alignment with the main track 2. The spare slitter 18' is thenmoved from the truck 29 along the main track 2 to the slitting position,i.e., onto the rail portions 9 held flush with the main track 2. Theinstallation of the spare slitter 18 in the slitting position thereof iscompleted by clamping the slitter base 7 against the support 5 afterhaving lowered the rail portions 9. The dulled slitting elements 19 and20 of the slitting equipment 18 can be repaired or exchanged with newslitting elements during a slitting operation by the spare slittingequipment 18'.

While the invention has been illustrated and described with reference toa single preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood thatvarious changes in the details of constructions and the arrangement andcombination of parts may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

What we claim is:

1. An apparatus for interchanging sheet metal slitting equipment,comprising:

a first slitting appratus comprised of a first wheeled base and normallyarranged in a slitting position thereof;

a second slitting apparatus comprised of a second wheeled base andnormally arranged in a stand-by position thereof, said second wheeledbase of said second slitting apparatus being identical with said firstwheeled base of said first slitting apparatus;

a pair of parallel rails which form a main track each of said railsincluding separable rail portions formed in an inverse V-shape andarranged so as to allow either said first or second slitting apparatus,when either said first or second wheeled base thereof travels on saidrail portions, to reach the slitting position of said system;

a plurality of pairs of parallel rails forming side-tracks flush withsaid main track, each of said side tracks being formed by one pair ofsaid parallel rails spaced to correspond to a spacing of said maintrack, and each of said side-tracks being arranged so as to allow eithersaid first or second slitting apparatus, when either said first orsecond wheeled base thereof rides on one of said side-tracks to betransferred to said stand-by position thereof;

a side-track bearing truck movable to bring either of said side-tracksinto alignment with said main track, thereby enabling either said firstor second slitting apparatus to move between said slitting position andsaid stand-by position;

means for lowering and raising each of said rail portions of said maintrack operatively connected thereto, either said first or secondslitting equipment in said slitting position being supported by saidrail portions when said rail portions are raised, said means forlowering and raising each of said rail portions comprised of a pair ofslidable members located beneath said rail position and provided withthread bores and having top surfaces thereof tapered oppositelyoutwardly to receive thereon said complementarily shaped bottom of saidrail portion, a threaded rod provided with left-and right-handed screwsfor threadedly engaging said bores in said slidable members, and abearing stand for said rod; and

stationary means for supporting either said first or second slittingequipment in said slitting position when said rail portions are lowered.

2. The combination of claim 1, further comprising a floor provided witha first recess in which said means for lowering and raising each of saidrail portions and said stationary means for supporting either said firstor second slitting equipment are mounted, and a second recess in whichsaid side-track bearing truck is mounted, said truck being provided withwheels movable on a pair of parallel rails disposed on a bottom of saidsecond recess.

3. The combination of claim 1, further comprising a clamp means forenabling either said first or second slitting equipment to be firmlyheld in said slitting position.

1. An apparatus for interchanging sheet metal slitting equipment,comprising: a first slitting appratus comprised of a first wheeled baseand normally arranged in a slitting position thereof; a second slittingapparatus comprised of a second wheeled base and normally arranged in astand-by position thereof, said second wheeled base of said secondslitting apparatus being identical with said first wheeled base of saidfirst slitting apparatus; a pair of parallel rails which form a maintrack each of said rails including separable rail portions formed in aninverse Vshape and arranged so as to allow either said first or secondslitting apparatus, when either said first or second wheeled basethereof travels on said rail portions, to reach the slitting position ofsaid system; a plurality of pairs of parallel rails forming side-tracksflush with said main track, each of said side tracks being formed by onepair of said parallel rails spaced to correspond to a spacing of saidmain track, and each of said side-tracks being arranged so as to alloweither said first or second slitting apparatus, when either said firstor second wheeled base thereof rides on one of said side-tracks to betransferred to said stand-by position thereof; a side-track bearingtruck movable to bring either of said sidetracks into alignment withsaid main track, thereby enabling either said first or second slittingapparatus to move between said slitting position and said stand-byposition; means for lowering and raising each of said rail portions ofsaid main track operatively connected thereto, either said first orsecond slitting equipment in said slitting position being supported bysaid rail portions when said rail portions are raised, said means forlowering and raising each of said rail portions comprised of a pair ofslidable members located beneath said rail position and provided withthread bores and having top surfaces therof tapered oppositely outwardlyto receive thereon said complementarily shaped bottom of said railportion, a threaded rod provided with left-and right-handed screws forthreadedly engaging said bores in said slidable members, and a bearingstand for said rod; and stationary means for supporting either saidfirst or second slitting equipment in said slitting position when saidrail portions are lowered.
 2. The combination of claim 1, furthercomprising a floor provided with a first recess in which said means forlowering and raising each of said rail portions and said stationarymeans for supporting either said first or second slitting equipment aremounted, and a second recess in which said side-track bearing truck ismounted, said truck being provided with wheels movable on a pair ofparallel rails disposed on a bottom of said second recess.
 3. Thecombination of claim 1, further comprising a clamp means for enablingeither said first or second slitting equipment to be firmly held in saidslitting position.